Post#273 » by TheBlackCzar » Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:02 am
After watching this game, I think alot of rash decisions and conclusions being drawn, when you have to factor in who wasn't playing, and how they'd go about alot of things differently than our youngsters tonight... (Bilal, Smart, CJ, Middleton).... Also Cam who'd probably be shining in this setting..... I'd be surprised if we won over 25-28 games this season, but I'll wait until preseason to draw conclusions once our full team is on display.....
Tonight we didn't play team ball and got smoked for it, but that defensive stretch at the end of the 2nd quarter was a preview of possibilities.... So while we were losing I was looking for signs of what we might become, and that was promising defensive pressure....
Bub really isn't fast off the dribble driving... He seems faster in transition but when he has to breakdown his stride and change direction he is not very sudden....
This was why I was interested in Fears, but Tre definitely is better at getting to the rim than I initially thought... And he's still got so much physical development left in front of him, so I do like how creative he is, which is inspiring for his potential.....
I thought Sarr was a bit more assertive to driving tonight, but I think he needs to go even harder in that regard.... He still is unsure sometimes on his drives and that split second slow down limits his space advantages... I think he just needs to keep getting stronger, and continue to believe in getting to the rim..... Defensively he didn't get overwhelmed by Maluach's weight advantage which was a promising sign... Last year he's getting smoked so good work in the gym Alex.....Keep working...
Envisioning what Cam or Bilal would've looked like if they were out here, I think we'd have had more dunks, and been even more aggressive throughout on Defense..... I'm really excited to see our youngings with Smart and Middleton's tutelage and see how they evolve throughout the season....
Key looked very composed and in control tonight... He grown manned Maluach on one play and I was like ok you can tell he's gotten better.... He's further along in his development physically... He's slowly becoming a man, and he's looking much better.... Who've have thought he'd look this good so quickly after the expectations were so low when we initially drafted him.....
Watkins looked pretty good on defense....
AJ needs to eat alot of food and lift..... He is so skinny, and he's almost 21, so that's a concern.... He is explosive but he needs to tighten and speed up his handles... He negates his physical gifts by dribbling slower than he moves.... He lost the ball alot tonight and I think if he was stronger that would aid his ability to play through contact on the perimeter and when he drives to the basket....
I was excited just to watch us play and really can't make too much of it other than, we played individual ball offensively and defensively and got our butts kicked... This should be a wake up call, but it's just one game with no game planning.... Chalk it up and play better Sunday.....
